(Disclaimer: This is not for publication or profit, or any use except to be read by users of FanFiction, for entertainment. This is meant to be a parody, not a plagiarism, and I claim no ownership of these characters nor this series.)
Act 5
(CLARY's bedroom. Enter CLARY, asleep. Enter JACE.)
CLARY (waking): O, Simon! I had a dreadful dream!
That my lost love, Jace, and my despis'd brother,
Sebastian, whose name is poison on my tongue,
Stood upon a lake of ice, like two angels that demonic were,
And I scarce knew which the more fearsome was.
Then, Simon—but soft!
Thou art not my Simon!
JACE: Nay, but I am something better, I warrant,
Thy lost love, returned by love,
Thy Jace.
CLARY: Jace! Why dost thou come
Unto a maiden's bedchamber?
JACE: O, my Clary! Wherefore this coldness?
Should I not expect more joy?
More, "God be praised!" More "Hallelujah!"?
After all, 'tis not every day
That thy true love rises from the grave.
CLARY: I already apprised was
Of thy continued life. I saw thee in the library with—
JACE: Sir Mustard?
CLARY: The dread Sebastian!
JACE: I knew thou wert there.
CLARY: And yet, for weeks and weeks,
Thou hast let me believe thee dead!
Fie! 'Tis a thing unforgivable
To lead a lady who truly lov'st thee
Into such an error!
JACE: Believe me, Clary, though it tore out my heart,
Thrust seraph blades through my soul, yet I had no choice.
Too dangerous 'twas. If I had told thee the truth,
Betwixt me and the Council,
Thou wouldst have had to choose. Wouldst thou have told them
And seen me hunted down? Or wouldst thou have kept the secret
And as an accomplice and a traitor branded been?
'Twas as a test of thy love
That I saw thee in the library and said nothing.
Hadst thou to the Council running gone
With tales of my falseness and base treachery, I would know
That thou love me not, and will betray
Any confidence I give you. But thou dost love me—true?
CLARY: In truth, I know not.
Who art thou?
JACE: I am myself: thy Jace.
And I love thee still. (He kisses her.)
CLARY (aside): Chaste Dian, give me courage
His caresses to resist! Though he comes in likeness
Of my most belov'd Jace,
The boy I saved from death, whom I defied an angel for,
Something is amiss. But, O!
Cupid's darts delve deep!
O, Jace! In my arms I must you keep! (Embraces JACE.)
(Enter SEBASTIAN.)
JACE: Well, good Sebastian! Thou may'st have
The worst timing since the French emperor
Invaded Muscovy in winter's icy blast! Why dost thou come here?
Canst thou not see
That we are occupied?
SEBASTIAN: Aye, and more pleasurably, 'twould seem,
Than any land by conqueror was!
But that virgin thou defil'st my sister is, and I needs must protest
When she is invaded by French, Muscovite, or Shadowhunter.
JACE: My apologies, Sebastian.
Passion's promptings proved too strong.
CLARY (to SEBASTIAN): Vile wretch! Get thou gone!
SEBASTIAN: Now, should so fair a maiden,
Who a sister dutiful should be,
Speak so to a brother?
CLARY: Good Sir Magnus should
A coatrack have left thee!
SEBASTIAN: O, that day thou remember'st? As do I:
When we rode together on a horse's back,
The sly sorcerer to see. I remember also
The burnt ruins of thy mother's house
And thy sweet ignorance that day. Mayhap we could do it all again
And, verily, quite soon.
CLARY (aside): More than ruins I remember:
A vile, incestuous kiss! I remember also,
By a destructive fire's hellish light, this same Sebastian,
In his villainy, taunted Jace
With that same kiss, and Jace nearly ran him through.
Yet now? Jace does nothing! Amused he looks
As though 'tis all a jest betwixt friends, and mildly annoyed
That his friend—how perverse a word
In relation to Sebastian!—should interrupt him!
(To SEBASTIAN) I care not what thou think'st
Nor what thou desire. Thou art not my brother.
Thou a murderer art.
SEBASTIAN: Murderer? But did not our father,
Traitorous Valentine, carry that same title?
Yet our father he remained. All the blood upon his hands
Could not wash away the blood he shared with us.
Good Jace: I hate to interrupt thee
When thou with private pleasures art preoccupied,
But I will say plainly: this hallway dulls my spirits.
I cannot the lights turn on,
For fear of discovery, but the darkness which hides me
Hides also any interest.
JACE: Prithee: five minutes give.
(Exeunt SEBASTIAN.)
CLARY: What wonder here?
By the devil's teat!
JACE: Such language, Fray,
Ill becomes you. Be at peace.
CLARY: What, thrown with my brother, and talk of peace!
Didst thou not hear his words? He spoke of the fateful day
When he took me to the ruins of my mother's home in Idris
And laid his lips on mine in lover's fashion,
Knowing full well I his sister was! Good Jace?
Dost thou understand my words?
JACE: Dear Clary, if thou desir'st not thy brother
To wait in the hall while we our love express,
I full well understand. I did not plan to kiss you.
It simply a good idea seemed.
CLARY: Confusion, like Typhon's rude winds,
Seems to buffet my head about. Reason flees
And stern bewilderment seeks her place. Jace, if Jace thou art!
First thou disappear'st,
Taking my heart and near my life with thee,
And now you return, in Sebastian's vile company,
As though thou wert to the baker gone, and returned
In the course of a day. Didst thou think I would feel nothing?
JACE: I told thee, Clary: 'twas a test.
I know 'twas difficult for thee—
CLARY: Difficult! Hark! "Difficult," he says!
Tests, sweet Jace, are difficult,
Obstacle courses obstacles present,
But thy disappearance, Jace,
Near took the life from me!
And what of Alec? Isabelle? Maryse, who a mother
Hath been to thee? Didst thou not think of them?
JACE: Ah, yes, I meant to ask: do they search for me?
I confess, I was besieged by disappointment
Not to see pictures of myself posted 'round the city,
With the legend: This we seek: one beautiful boy
Of hot and untried years, who answers to "Jace" or, perchance, "Hot Stuff."
CLARY (aside): He has run mad! I saw a strange expression on his visage,
As though my words, while lighting on him,
Yet made no impression, as a butterfly landing upon a stone.
I fear some vile sorcery, such as Lilith cast.
(To JACE): Mind thy tongue!
JACE: Dost thou not think
"Hot Stuff" descriptive is? "Sweet Cheeks," then, perchance,
Or "Love Crumpet." After all, my lineage hails
From England's fair isle.
CLARY: Fie! Get thee gone!
JACE: Nay, sweet Clarissa: I will be serious. I have come this night
To beg thee fly away with me.
CLARY: Whence?
JACE: That I cannot tell. Come with me—
And good Sebastian—
And I will uncover all.
CLARY: Nay, for the last time I accompanied thee
To a location undisclosed, I ended up
In the middle of a demon's ceremony.
JACE: That Lilith was, not me!
CLARY: And who art thou? The Jace Lightwood,
Whom I knew and loved, would not in the same room be
As Jonathan Morgenstern, and let him leave alive!
JACE: That would be as a serpent swallowing its own tail,
For dear Sebastian and I are bound
Like two cherries on a single stem.
Cut him and I bleed.
CLARY: "Bound?" What mean thou?
JACE: Clary, please believe: this bigger is
Than mere childish grudge, hatched in the nursery
Between two unhappy children.
We are now men, and Sebastian hath a plan,
To bring light to the world, turn back the tide
Of foul demon kind that threatens to extinguish all.
If thou wouldst let me explain—
CLARY: He killed young Max. Your little brother,
As sweet and pure a boy as e'er breathed,
He foully murdered!
JACE: That an accident was. And Sebastian
Just as much my brother is.
CLARY: Nay, he is mine own! And how I wish
That were not true. He should have perished
Ere he was born!
JACE: How canst thou say
So foul a thing? Perhaps, Clary,
Things not so simple are! 'Twas a war, dear Clary,
And innocents were hurt. Full of wrath was I then,
But now I know that Sebastian,
Would never harm of his own design
Those whom I love. A greater cause he serves.
Sometimes there collateral damage is—
CLARY: Curse my ears for hearing
So evil a thing! Did my Jace
Just call his brother "damage collateral?"
JACE: Thou heed me not! This
Important is!
CLARY: Just as foul Valentine believed
His scheme for blood, death, domination of Earth's sphere,
Important was?
JACE: Valentine was a fool, and wrongheaded besides.
Correct he was, that the Clave was corrupt as Judas—
Selling itself for thirty pieces—
But Valentine erred on how to correct that error.
But Sebastian speaks with truth, his soul
Filled with honesty. If thou wilt but listen to us—
CLARY: Fie! "Us?" Dear Lord! That e'er such a day should come
When Jace would speak with Sebastian
In one voice, one thought, one desire! "Us!" The good Earth
Tilts upon her axis, the stars fly
From their spheres, and angels gape
To hear such a thing as "us!" My knife almost
I could take up, and use't too
On thee!
JACE: Dost thou not love me still, dear Clary?
CLARY: Jace Lightwood I loved;
Thee, I know not.
(Offstage, a cry.)
(aside) My mother 'tis! Her voice full of fear!
Sebastian she has glimpsed, I'll warrant.
This seeming-Jace,
Full of disjointed half-truths, gibbering verses
Of madness, I leave
Right gladly, and with ne'er a glance behind!
(Exeunt CLARY.)
JACE: Good Clary, stay!
(Exeunt JACE.)
(The living room. Enter JOCELYN and SEBASTIAN.)
JOCELYN: Methinks I see a phantom here before me,
Or else a hideous fiend, come from the Void's darkest pit
To torment me with this dread likeness. In you, I see the face
Of my despis'd husband: the eyes, the hair, the mien
Of my tormentor. And yet,
Thou art a boy in whose eyes
Hell's fires rage, nothing human at all.
The eyes are the windows to the soul, and now I see—
As I saw, when thou wert born—
That thou hast no soul at all.
By these eyes, blacker than Tartarus, I believe thee—
(Enter CLARY and JACE.)
-Jonathan.
SEBASTIAN: "Jonathan?" Nay, I'll not be Jonathan.
"Jonathan," thou call'st me, when thou didst kiss
My infant brow, before thou didst set out to betray
Thy husband, the Circle, and me most of all.
"Jonathan," my father call'st me, when he set out
To summon Raziel, and left me behind to die
On my own brother's sword. Nay, not "Jonathan!"
And not thy son, nor Valentine's,
But "Sebastian" I'll be, myself alone.
JOCELYN: I believed thee dead!
I saw thy bones to ashes turned.
SEBASTIAN: If thou wert a mother true—
Dear, kind, and loving—
Thou would'st have known I was alive.
Do not our mothers, all our lives,
Carry with them the keys to our souls?
But thou scorned me,
And threw mine away.
CLARY (aside): O, Jupiter, how I long to rush
To my fainting mother's side!
But there is some darkness here, some terrible thing,
Like a battle between two gods,
And I, watching aghast,
Cannot interfere.
SEBASTIAN: Art thou not pleased to see me, Mother?
Am I not what thou would'st wish in a son?
Strong and handsome, and bearing the likeness
Of thy husband dear?
JOCELYN: I'll not believe thy prating lies, thy serpent's smile;
What dost thou want, Jonathan?
SEBASTIAN: Why, what do all men desire?
What do they strive for, yearn for,
Move mountains and cross oceans for?
Summon angels, defy the gods,
Strike deals with devils?
One thing only: what they are owed.
I am no different from other men in this wise,
And so I desire this: the Morgenstern legacy.
JOCELYN: The Morgenstern legacy
Blood and devastation is:
Ruined cities, orphaned babes,
Wailing endless and oceans of tears!
I rid myself of "Morgenstern,"
And neither I nor my daughter can be counted as thy kin.
Go, Jonathan; I'll not tell the Clave thou wert here.
(To JACE.) Nor thee. If they knew
Thou wert this villain's ally, they
Would kill thee too.
JACE: Thou care'st for my life?
JOCELYN: Nay, but I care for my daughter,
Whose life and happiness,
The sunshine of all her joy,
Depend on thy continued life.
The Law would have thy life
But hard it is—too hard.
Hard enough to grind the very spirit from my child
And kill a pretty innocent like thee.
Perhaps thou canst be saved.
(To SEBASTIAN) But thou—O, thou:
Flesh of my flesh, son born from demon-poisoned womb
That wanted only to love thee,
My Jonathan—'tis much too late. (Threatens SEBASTIAN with kindjal.)
SEBASTIAN: I look just like him, don't I?
Thy departed husband, thy most hated enemy,
My father, Valentine. That is why
Thou look'st at me with such venom'd hate.
JOCELYN: Nay: though thou resemble Valentine,
Thou look'st like thou ever did, from the moment
That my mother laid thee in my arms,
A new-born babe, and thou lifted thy lids
To reveal no human thing, but only evil demonic,
Lunatic and cruel. I am sorry, Jonathan.
SEBASTIAN: Wherefore?
JOCELYN: That I did not take thy life at birth! (Threatens him.)
SEBASTIAN: Oh, is that what thou desire'st?
My death? Then take it, by all means!
Commit the sin of Cronus: eat thy young.
Come: kill me, I'll not stop thee.
JACE: Sebastian! 'Ware!
CLARY (aside): What horror this, on a night of horrors!
Did my sweet Jace express
Concern, brotherly love
For this monster? But hark! Now my mother,
As strong as the Amazon queen who defended Troy,
Comes to take Sebastian's foul life!
Her knife lies at his heart!
SEBASTIAN: Do it, Mother.
Drive in the blade!
Or canst thou? Thou couldst have murdered me
When I a weakling newborn was, helpless and at thy mercy.
But thou did not. Perhaps thou know'st
The immutable law, which states
That no mother can have love conditional
For her own child. Perhaps, if thou lov'st me enough,
Thou couldst save me.
JOCELYN: Thy mouth, Jonathan, is filled with naught but poisoned lies.
Like an actor on a stage,
Full of prating jokes, grand speeches, protests of undying love,
That blow away when th' player
Washes off his paint, puts away his costume
And dons his true self,
So thou art: an actor, playing a role.
Thou feel'st not
The hurt nor the love that thou express.
Thy father taught thee to feign humanity,
As an heathen priest would teach his parrot
Human words, to fool the gullible. The parrot does not understand
And nor do thee. God knows how I wish
That thou didst. But there only evil is
And but one conclusion! (Attacks SEBASTIAN, wounds him and JACE.)
JACE: Ow!
CLARY (aside): What new evil is this?
For when my mother,
Mov'd by righteous wrath, did injure Sebastian
With a cut upon his chest, so too did such a cut
Appear upon Jace! 'Tis true: they are bound
By some vile sorcery, the likes of which
I cannot fathom now. Oh, vile fate,
My only love chained to my only hate!
(To JOCELYN) Mother! Halt! (Moves between JOCELYN and SEBASTIAN.)
JOCELYN: Clary, move from my way.
I must slay him!
SEBASTIAN: How sweet! A little sister
Defending her belov'd brother!
CLARY: Stop thy mouth, serpent! 'Tis not thee I defend,
But rather my Jace. Mother, I prithee desist
For if thou slaughter this evil wretch,
Thou slaughter also my love! His blood already flows.
My mother, please.
JOCELYN: O, my Clary.
SEBASTIAN: Gracious, 'tis awkward.
'Twill be interesting to see
How thou wilt resolve this dilemma!
A drama, I think, worthy of audience.
After all, I've no reason to leave.
(Enter LUKE, with gun.)
LUKE: On the contrary, Valentine's son,
Thou hast ample reason.
This a Winchester twelve-gauge pump-action shotgun is.
We in the pack use't
To put down wolves that have gone rogue.
Even if I dare not kill thee,
I can blow thy leg off, son of Valentine!
SEBASTIAN: "Son of Valentine?" "Valentine's son?"
Is that really
How thou regard me? Hast thou not thought
That, had circumstances been elsewise,
Thou might'st have been my godfather?
LUKE: Had circumstances been elsewise,
Thou might'st have been human.
SEBASTIAN: The same may be said of thee,
Werewolf.
(LUKE threatens SEBASTIAN.)
CLARY: Good Luke! Hold!
JACE: Nay, he will not hold! Sebastian, if thou wilt not defend thyself,
Then I must do it for thee! (Attacks LUKE, they fight, shotgun goes off. JACE takes shotgun and throws it.) Now, Luke, thou must attend!
(LUKE strikes JACE.)
CLARY (aside): O, that this should happen! That my stepfather,
Who hath been to me more a father
Than Valentine e'er was,
Should strike me! But, no! 'Tis Jace he strikes!
I scarce can the difference tell, so great
Is the shock. Oh, Luke, gentlest of men and kindest!
Truly, this night is evil,
And evil is he who such evil begets!
(SEBASTIAN draws a knife, stabs LUKE.)
More evil he engenders! My beloved Luke
Lies bleeding on the floor! Now is no time
To think of niceties, of what harm
My actions might cause. Death to he who deals such death!
(To SEBASTIAN) Thou fiend! Hold a while, and we'll decide,
Which sibling's wrath is greater! (Attacks SEBASTIAN.)
SEBASTIAN (aside): What little bird is this
That flaps its soft wings against my shoulder?
'Tis a little body, and my sister its owner!
A pretty thing, but vicious,
And fearless, the light of dauntless bravery
Flaming in her eyes, even as her attack
Barely injures me—my body, at least. My soul, however,
She has long since attacked and conquered
And never known it. I confess, my fascination grows.
JACE: Enough! Sebastian, our injuries grow worse
The longer we remain. 'Tis time to retreat. (Seizes SEBASTIAN.)
SEBASTIAN: Release me! I would see
How this plays out.
JACE: Nay! 'Tis past time that we flew.
(aside) Farewell, my Clary, but only farewell,
For I shall soon return to look once more on thee.
Mine eyes cannot get enough of thy fair countenance
And thy harshest word is music to mine ears.
As the needle of a compass
Points e'er toward the northern star, so my heart
Points e'er toward thee. Farewell, my love,
'Til next we meet again!
SEBASTIAN: Aye, 'til next we meet!
(Exeunt JACE and SEBASTIAN. JOCELYN throws kindjal after them, misses.)
JOCELYN: Curse my aim! Now they've fled!
Clary, help me here with Luke.
That dagger silver was,
Which is poison to my beloved's kind.
He'll not heal as he should.
(LUKE moans.) Dear Luke, be still. Clary, fetch some towels
From the bathroom, to stop the blood.
(Exeunt CLARY, returns with towels. JOCELYN binds them on LUKE'S wounds.)
CLARY: He breathes. Thank the gods,
That he is yet alive!
JOCELYN: Alive,
But injured grievous. I have called his pack—
Whose soldiers loyal are—
And asked their help. When they arrive, we all must leave.
For, as a murderer foul, who, his conscience tearing at him,
Returns e'er to the scene of his loathed crime,
So shall Jace return for thee, my daughter.
CLARY: Thou dost not know that!
JOCELYN: I do. A few fleeting years,
I was married to Valentine Morgenstern, and in those years,
I learned to hate him, betray him,
Burn his dreams around him, and still,
After fifteen years of separation, he returned for me,
Passion and possession raging
Like a storm within his heart.
So Valentine was, and so Jace is,
And so the Morgenstern men e'er were.
They will drain oceans, rip the skies,
Burn down worlds,
To obtain what they believe is theirs.
CLARY (aside): This is all my fault.
Passion possessed Valentine?
So it possessed me, when, as a fainting maiden,
I allowed Jace to love me in the shades of failing night,
Ignoring all good sense, the safety
Of these my beloved parents. And the result?
That Luke lies bleeding on the floor
And the foul Sebastian hath made his way
With Jace his happy companion. Jace is not Valentine?
But is he not? And am I?
JOCELYN: Get thy things, Clary.
Take only what thou canst carry.
To this house we'll not return.
(Exeunt CLARY, JOCELYN and LUKE.)